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Mar. 29, 2006 Taylor Abbott recently posted an article in which she mused about the possible existence of God. Skip Toomaloo responded with a predictable pro-God piece. Taylor, if you're reading this, allow me to respond from a skeptical perspective. First, I have to say that your questioning nature is refreshing. Many people your age have already latched onto the beliefs of their parents with such fervency that no amount of competing evidence, no matter how persuasive, will sway them. They have been "indwelt" with God's "holy spirit" and counter-arguments are nothing to them but the work of the devil. We have many people like that here at U-K. The fact that you actively question God's existence and strive for answers shows that you are already light-years ahead of many of your peers when it comes to critical thought. That is no small accomplishment. You wonder if God will let you into his kingdom if you have not lived a life strictly according to biblical precepts. Let's back up a moment and first ask: Is there even a Kingdom of Heaven to aspire to? Does your life cease to be meaningful if Heaven is just a made-up world that gives comfort to humans who are frightened of death? I think you'll probably agree with me that your life has purpose every time you strive toward a worthy goal, and that your life has meaning simply because it is meaningful to you and to those who love you. Purpose, meaning, and salvation are right here on Earth, in the present now. Life is what we make of it. We should not need belief in an afterlife in order to find meaning and purpose in this life. So the real question you should be pursuing, I think, is this: Do I even care if a Kingdom of Heaven exists? If it does, great; if it does not, that's okay, too, because your life will have been lived to the fullest and you will have left the world in a little bit better shape than when you entered it. You can realize, too, that any God worthy of the name would not exclude someone from eternal bliss simply because they didn't follow the right book, or subscribe to the proper belief. If there is some type of life after death, it will be open to everyone. In the meantime, your greatest gift is your innate skepticism. When you say that it will take "more than a rainstorm" to convince you of God's existence, you hit the nail directly on the head. It should take more - a LOT more. Before we hold a belief to be true, we should have a great deal of independent, verifiable evidence to support that belief. A belief that is unsupported by evidence is an irrational belief and should be discarded. Steer clear of "faith" if you can, because when you fall back on faith, what you are really saying is that your belief cannot stand on its own merit. If a belief cannot stand on its merit, if it cannot be supported by evidence, then it is a belief not worth having. You say that the world was "crafted very intricately and intelligently". I agree with you that it certainly APPEARS that way. The universe is a magnificent place, full of so many jaw-dropping wonders that I am left speechless every time I discover a new one. And, yes, it is intricate. But intelligently crafted? No. I urge you to pick up a book by either Brian Greene (The Elegant Universe or The Fabric of the Cosmos) or Stephen Hawking. Greene, especially, who is a theoretical physicist with Columbia University, writes with such flair about the grandeur of the universe that I guarantee you will be hooked. But, as the evidence in his books (and in other books) reveals, the universe is most definitely not intelligently designed, all appearances to the contrary. On a related note, the Big Bang theory (and evolution) most definitely DO NOT state that the universe was just "thrown together". Once you have a proper understanding of the natural world as revealed by modern science, you will see that the "greater force" of which you speak is nothing but the natural evolution of the cosmos over the course of 14 billion years. And it is magnificent. You also briefly mention what is known in philosophical circles as the "problem of evil". That is, if God is all-loving as the Christian bible says, then why does evil exist? You could spend the rest of your life studying this one issue alone. There are countless others. I urge you to study them all. A closed mind is an intractable mind that has no hope of ever seeing beyond its own limited perspective. Always seek, always learn, always keep your mind open to new perspectives, but heed the late Carl Sagan's warning: Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out. In other words, don't accept every loony claim that comes along in your zeal to be open to new beliefs. Evidence should be your guiding light. If there's no evidence for a claim, you should reject belief in that claim. No evidence, no belief. It is very simple. No evidence, no belief. That is why I, personally, reject belief in God and gods, in leprechauns and ghosts, in psychic channeling and UFO abductions, and in countless other magical mysteries. I see not one shred of evidence to support any of those claims. You will have to find your own path. The fact that you demand proof before accepting a claim is a good sign that you are, by nature, a skeptical person. And, by being skeptical, you have assured yourself that if truth does exist out there somewhere, you will eventually find it. Or, at the very least, a good approximation of it. Good luck, Taylor. ------------ About the author: David Gleeson lives in Colorado with his wife and two children. He is an aerospace engineer and skeptic of all things supernatural. You can find a website of his opinion pieces at http://homepage.mac.com/coskeptic/blog/index.html. Email: coskeptic@mac.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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